Starogard County: Culture, Trails and Nature

Starogard County combines historic buildings with marked trails and protected landscapes. Starogard Gdański is a cultural focal point; other places offer insights into architecture, history and nature. When planning your trip, you can base your stay around the sights or focus on trails, rivers and woodland areas. The different themes offer specific points of reference to help you decide what you would like to experience during your trip.

Historic Buildings in Starogard Gdański

Fragments of the fortification walls have been preserved in the old town of Starogard Gdański. The Gothic parish church of St. Matthew dates from the 14th century and has a rich Baroque and Rococo interior. This brings Gothic architecture and furnishings from later periods together in a single building. The Bożnica is also one of the town’s important historical landmarks: the 19th-century Jewish synagogue is the only Jewish synagogue in Kociewie.

The Stado Ogierów in Starogard Gdański offers a different chapter of the town’s history. Founded in 1897, it has a collection of horse harnesses. Its founding year and collection make the stud farm a distinct point of interest alongside the town’s religious and fortification buildings.

Churches, Manor Houses and Historic Sites

The Gothic church of St. Barbara in Kokoszkowy was built of stone and brick and has remained unchanged since the 14th century. In Skarszewy, the Knights Hospitaller castle dates from 1305; today it houses the Gminny Ośrodek Kultury in Skarszewy. Both the building’s history and its current institutional use are part of the character of the place.

In Rokocin, the manor house is part of a manor-and-park complex whose traditions as a country estate date back to the 16th century. Tourists can also learn horse riding and carriage driving in Rokocin. Grodzisko Owidz includes reconstructed huts belonging to an herb gatherer and a fisherman; events with a historical character are held there. The park at the manor house in Sumin has educational trails, and the grounds are used for recreation and leisure.

Landscapes and Trails in Starogard County

There are numerous trails for hiking, cycling and kayaking in the Tuchola Forest in Starogard County. The municipality of Osiek lies entirely within the protected area of the Tuchola Forest. In Skarszewy, the valleys of the Wierzyca and Wietcisa are protected landscape areas. The Wietcisa meanders through the area and is the largest tributary of the Wierzyca. Brzęczek Nature Reserve covers 26 hectares of woodland and includes Lake Brzęczek.

The routes in Skarszewy also offer a variety of waypoints: there is the marked green Skarszewy Tourist Trail, as well as marked hiking and cycling routes. The red Kociewie Lakes Tourist Trail starts in Skarszewy and ends in Szpęgawsk. This gives you both the starting and finishing points of the route, as well as the marked trails in and around Skarszewy, to help plan your trip.

The Wirty Arboretum in Zblewo is one of Poland’s oldest forestry dendrological gardens. Visitors can admire its distinctive plant life along the walking paths. The municipality of Kaliska offers a different point of reference: National Road 22, known as the “Berlinka,” and the Tczew–Chojnice railway line both pass through it.

When choosing a hotel, consider which of these aspects of Starogard County matters most for your trip.

Discover more destinations: Lubichowo, Linowiec, Rynkówka, Pinczyn, Smętówko, Sztum, Nowy Dwór Gdański, Starogard Gdański.

Go to the overview of the wider region: Pomerania.